Giddy Stratospheres
by RavenWriter89
Summary: Jack may have been defrocked, but he still has to earn his stripes.


_Title from a song by The Long Blondes, which has no bearing on the actual story. Set after The Doctor Dances._

* * *

Since his arrival, Jack knew he was being tested. _You'd better be_ rang in his head as the Doctor threw one thing after another at him, testing his weaknesses, seeing what he could handle. Every kind of mechanical engineering, temporal displacement system, and cybernetic connection was shown and only half explained. He could feel the Doctor's eyes on him, seeing how he responded to unexpected problems and complications, as well as the temptation it presented.

The Doctor finally gave him a break. Jack didn't feel tired as such (he loved being able to dive into the tangle of wires and plugs) but felt due for a rest. The weariness must have left him light-headed because he cheekily asked where the Doctor's bedroom was located, just to see how he'd react. He received a blank look and a lecture on timecycles and homeostasis instead, and finally reached the conclusion that there weren't any bedrooms onboard because they weren't necessary.

That disturbed Jack more than it should have.

He walked off into the oddly stark corridors of the ship, determined to ground himself with something familiar. After passing several closed doors he found one slightly ajar. Well, he had to start somewhere. It turned out to be a wardrobe. The room itself was the same stark white as the hallway and small, like those found on less spatially transcendent ships. He was about to close the door and move on when he spotted a WWII greatcoat, similar to the one still hanging in the console room, and a 1950's motorcycle jacket beside it. He glanced around; everything was in men's styles, and ranged throughout the 20th century.

Jack grinned.

He quickly determined that these were not the Doctor's clothes; they were too broad in the chest and short in the arm for him, and he didn't think he was one for dressing up much. The strange telepathic ship had given him an allotment of clothing, which Jack appreciated more and more as he shifted through it. He wasn't sure how long he would stay onboard, but he was damn well going to enjoy it while he could.

He emerged a half hour later in jeans and shirt that were more comfortable and easier to move in than what he had been wearing, and he decided he liked the feel of the denim. He smirked as he thought of a conman's main tactic of gaining trust: mimic the target. Right now he looked like he had stepped straight from Rose's time. Speaking of which—

He hadn't seen Rose in hours. In fact, he wasn't even sure how long ago he had been rescued from his own ship. Everything that had happened since Big Ben and Albion Hospital was catching up to him. Jack was used to culture shock but this was enough to seriously shake him. He needed someone who had already gone through this. He needed a human. He needed Rose.

Jack glanced back down the corridor, then turned and headed the other way.

He started getting bolder in his explorations, and found a medical lab, a greenhouse, another wardrobe, and what looked disconcertingly like cold storage. Having no idea where to find Rose, he trusted the TARDIS to help him like a guide dog. It paid off when he eventually found a door that was different; it was white, like all the others, but it was warm to the touch. Patting the wall, he said, "Thanks, old girl." Maybe he could ask for a proper martini sometime, too.

He hesitated when reached for the handle. Should he knock? This felt like Rose's room, not just the room she was in, but _Rose's room_. He erred on the side of caution and rapped quickly.

"Come in, Jack," her voice called.

He opened the door. The room was of the coral style like the console room with padded benches running around the circumference, and there was an inner circle of benches that Rose was resting her feet on. Instead of grating there was grey foam-like material that felt as soft as grass. "How'd you know it was me?" he asked.

"The Doctor doesn't knock," she said with a small smile. He grinned in return.

"This ship's a bit of a funhouse," he said. He sat beside her, but left enough room so a theoretical third person could sit between them.

"Yeah. You get used to it."

"It's just, I don't know, it itches, but in a good way." He waved his hand vaguely. "Sort of."

"You feel like you've been awake for days, but don't feel tired?" Rose asked.

"Exactly."

"He give you the timecycle talk?"

"Yep."

Rose laughed, a low chuckle that left her grinning, head leaning on her knuckles and regarded him. Jack suddenly had a pang of _possibility_ and _what if _that he quickly stifled.

"Thought you'd be used to all this time stuff, Time Agent," she teased.

"Ex-Time Agent," he corrected. "The time stuff is fine, it's the Vortex stuff that's weird. Agents kind of hopped through it, we never lived in it. It's like finding yourself living underwater."

"How're you holding up?" She was actually concerned. Oh, how he could care for this girl.

He told her about the Doctor, and being judged and scrutinized, and wanting to live up to some unknown expectation, and she told him about her first trip in the TARDIS. That had been her test; not only seeing dozens of different species, but the death of her planet. The Doctor had brought her back in case she wanted to leave, although he never said so. She had never even considered it. As her narrative ended, she fell silent and stared at a point on the floor.

He felt better than he did before, and he liked Rose, so he felt safe in asking. "Something wrong?"

"It's nothing."

He leaned towards her, his old cockiness coming back. He could get anyone talking if he wanted to. "Come on. Trust me. I only nearly destroyed humanity as we know it." And he'd be paying for that as soon as he found time to sleep.

She snorted. "So did I," she said and immediately sobered. When he silently waited she sighed in frustration, blowing the air violently from her nostrils. "You know people," she said.

"Yeah."

"I mean, you know aliens. And you know how to read them, even with all the strange, alien stuff, right?"

"Part of being a criminal," he said with mock pride. But it still took a moment for it to sink in. Her posture, her tone, her isolation. He felt a wave of sympathy for the poor girl. He glanced at the door and whispered conspiratorially, "Is it him?"

Her eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly went back to sulking. "I've met aliens before, proper aliens. Green, blue, claws, horns, feathers, bark, whatever. But he...he's so alien sometimes. How am I supposed to react to that, eh? He might have a completely different set of emotions for all I know. He might be happy or angry, but what if he's feeling, I don't know, glomph? What do I do then?"

It took a few minutes for Jack to make sure his voice was flat enough to answer. "Glomph?"

"You know what I mean." She didn't quite scowl, but her eyebrows drew together in harsh lines. He wanted to fix it.

He automatically put his arm around her shoulders, and belatedly froze until she leaned into him. "From a purely objective standpoint without any bias in the matter at all-" she snorted again "-I think you have him figured out pretty well." She looked at him in confusion. Did she really not see it? He'd been here only a few hours (days?), and already his nerves were snapping. "What's brought all this on?" he asked.

She shifted uncomfortably. "This is gonna sound stupid, but there have been...other people travel with us."

"Other men?"

Rose laughed. It was tight and awkward and ugly. "It sounds so domestic." She paused, chewing her lip while she sorted out her thoughts. "I invited this guy to come with us once. He didn't handle it well. We had to drop him back home. But even before that, the Doctor didn't pay much attention to him. Same with my friend from home. I don't think he really disliked them, just didn't think they were worth his time."

She kept her eyes fixed on the floor and Jack had to prompt her to continue. "And?"

"Hespendsmoretimewithyou," she said in a rush. "I know it's not your fault, and really I'm not upset with you or anything, but it's just weird when he treats you so differently from everyone else that's been onboard, and I don't know what to _do_ about it, or even if I should—"

"Rose!" he interrupted. "Is that what's bothering you? That the Doctor's not around as much as before?"

She curled further into herself. "No need to make me feel more like a schoolgirl than I do already," she grumbled.

"Rose," he repeated, grinning, "there is no way I could ever replace you in the Doctor's eyes."

"But you can talk to him in the same language, you know all this techno-babble and he doesn't look at you like you're some underdeveloped cave dweller."

"No, he looks at me like I'm some scummy philanderer who's about to make off with as much loot as my pockets can carry." He smiled at her.

He removed his arm and turned to face her, trying to remember how young she was even with all this experience. "He likes you; he tries to impress you. I'm serious!" he added at her raised eyebrow. "He wants to protect you, so he's suspicious of anything and anybody that might cause you pain."

She digested this, but he could see it didn't quite fit. "Then why—"

"The only reason he's spending this much time on me is to see if I'm worth it, like you said." He allowed a teasing note to enter his voice. "You've already passed the test with flying colours; you're safe."

She was silent a moment longer, and the lines on her face smoothed. Jack felt pleased with his success.

"Do you think study break is over?" she asked, a tiny smile curving her lips.

"Only one way to find out. Come on." He stood and held his hand out to her. "He's had to put up with me mucking around in his precious ship for hours. I'm sure he'd love to see you."

She stood up beside him and they walked out into the corridor. "You sure? About all that stuff?"

He rolled his eyes. "Rose, c'mon," he chastised, "you make him smile."

***

At Rose's urging, the Doctor had stopped drilling Jack and they landed in Berlin, Germany in 2832 at the dissolution of the Trans-World Monocracy, marking the end of the First Human Empire. It was historic and important, and full of humanity, and made a little bit dangerous by the bands of protesters. Jack loved it.

He didn't miss how the Doctor kept watching him, especially when he was talking to a local or inspecting the commemorative merchandise. He made an extra effort to keep his hands in his pockets. He also didn't miss the brief flashes of annoyance whenever he showed Rose something, or she took his hand instead of the Doctor's, or _anything _concerned with Rose. It frustrated him. He wasn't an idiot; he didn't need to be reminded of where the boundaries were.

At one point he turned to find he was alone in the crowd. Searching around, he saw the Doctor and Rose several metres behind him talking quietly. Jack couldn't hear what they were saying, but judging by their respective frowns he could take a pretty good guess. To anyone else, they might have been discussing the safest route home; to Jack it was judgement day.

The Doctor's stance was stiff and stubborn with his arms crossed, while Rose looked exasperated. She talked with her hands when she was annoyed, and they continually floated up to punctuate her point. The Doctor uncrossed his arms and bent forward to bargain with her. She was having none of it, if her outthrust hip was anything to go by. Her own arms crossed, and Jack was struck again by how similar they were without even realising it. Meanwhile the Doctor's arms were spread and gesturing in desperation. A smug smile spread across Rose's face, and Jack knew she'd won, which could only be good news for him. The Doctor's arms fell to his sides and he allowed Rose to take one and guide him back to the stall Jack was standing beside.

He pretended not to have noticed their conversation. "I don't which of you is more like a magpie, always getting distracted by shinies."

The Doctor harrumphed while Rose smiled and said, "It's getting late, so unless we want to bed down here I suggest we head back to the TARDIS. Yeah?" She looked at Jack for confirmation.

"Sure, good plan," he answered. They walked back together, and he kept his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

Once inside the Doctor turned to Rose. Some silent communication occurred, and he said, "Well?"

"He hasn't got a door in his head yet, and he hasn't scarpered," she replied. "I think he's passed."

The Doctor grinned. "Fantastic. Here you are, Jack. Graduation present." He slipped a key out of his pocket and handed it to Jack. "If you want."

"Really?" he asked in disbelief.

"You're supposed to say thank you," whispered Rose.

He looked at the Doctor, still a little unsure. Was this another test? But all he saw was amusement and pride and exasperation at his hesitancy and a little embarrassment. He grinned and opened his arms. The Doctor rolled eyes and sighed, but didn't avoid the bear hug Jack gave him. Rose laughed as he then swept her up and swung her around. It was completely platonic (well, as platonic as he could manage), but he quickly remembered the glowers from earlier. He set Rose down, expecting to see some displeasure, but was again surprised.

"Well done, Captain," the Doctor said with a faint smile.

Rose jabbed him in the ribs. "You're stuck with us now!"

"So, Jack, where do you want to go next? Your choice."

Jack grinned wickedly. "The Romans used to throw some fabulous parties. I bet you'd look great in a toga."


End file.
